by Tell Cotten
As I was getting up I heard somebody screaming my name, and I looked up and spotted Lee.
Lee was mounted, and he was running his horse straight towards me.
“Follow me, Button!” He hollered as he blew by me.
In one leap I was on Slim. Then, after sliding my rifle into its scabbard, I was right behind Lee.
Lee was heading towards the herd, and I figured he was thinking that we could maybe use the cows as a shield.
Everybody else must have been thinking the same thing, because when I took a quick look around I saw that everybody else was with us.
That is, all but Kinrich and Brian. I could still hear Kinrich’s guns booming behind us, and it sounded like he was fighting his own little war.
It was then that I saw Palmer.
He was directly behind me, and was closing in fast. He had a mean, twisted snarl on his face, and I suddenly realized that he held his six-shooter.
He was aiming it at me, and suddenly he fired. I ducked, and I heard the sharp whip of a bullet as it flew by ear.
I palmed my six-shooter and fired back.
My shots were wild, but they did scare off Palmer. He slid his horse to a stop, and then, after glaring at me for a second, took off going in the other direction.
Injuns were in fierce pursuit of us when we hit the herd. Those cattle slowed us down, and before I knew it cows, Injuns, and outlaws were running all over the place.
It was a dangerous place to be, so I let Slim have his head as we followed close behind Lee.
Once we got away from the cows we ran our horses wide open.
Finally, we started putting some distance between the Injuns and us. Both our horses could really run, and those Injun ponies just couldn’t keep up.
After a while the shooting and hollering became more scarce. The Injuns that were chasing us finally gave up, and then we were alone, just the two of us.
Lee pulled his horse up to fast trot. Both our horses were breathing hard, and were lathered up with sweat.
Lee turned in the saddle and looked at me.
“Rondo? You make it all right?”
“I think so,” I answered with a shaky smile.
“Good,” Lee flashed me a relieved grin. “Well, come on. Let’s find us a hole and hole up for a while.”
That sounded good, and I kicked up Slim and followed along behind Lee.
Chapter thirty-seven
It took us about an hour to leave the flat country.
The country was rougher now, with deep hills and such. I was glad, because the land offered better cover.
Lee had been in these parts before.
“I know a good spot up ahead where we can hole up for a while,” he told me.
Lee loped along while Slim and I did our best to keep up. By now ol’ Slim was getting tired, but finally Lee pulled up.
I looked around, and I had to agree that it was a good place to stop.
We were at the base of a high ridge with a little cove, and at the top of the ridge you could see the country for at least a mile in all directions. Our camp was in a low spot in the middle of the ridge, and there were thick trees all around to help hide any smoke from a campfire.
“I figure we can take cover here for a day or two and let things blow over,” Lee said as he dismounted.
“Why wait that long?” I asked curiously.
“You’ll see before too long,” was all that Lee said.
We unsaddled our horses. Then, while I picketed them Lee started a small fire and put some coffee on.
I joined Lee, and as soon as the coffee was ready we filled our cups. Then, we took deep swigs and mulled over our current situation.
“I told you we weren’t going to make it to Kansas,” Lee smiled.
“You were right,” I agreed.
“Course, I didn’t figure it would be Injuns,” Lee commented. “But, now that I think on it, it’s probably better that those Injuns showed up instead of Tussle.”
“Why’s that?” I asked as I blew softly into my steaming cup.
“Tussle’s bunch can shoot better,” Lee explained.
“Well, those Injuns sure did nail Valdez,” I said. “And Brian got hit, but I didn’t see what became of him.”
“He was with Kinrich,” Lee said.
“What happened to Kinrich?” I asked.
Lee shook his head.
“There’s no telling. I took a quick look when we were leaving, and he and Brian were covered up with Injuns. But you know something? It looked like Kinrich was enjoying it!”
“Do you think he snapped, like you said?” I asked.
Lee frowned in thought and nodded.
“Yes, I think he did.”
“Well, if those Injuns did kill him, I reckon it would be a fitting end for him,” I said. “I don’t think I ever saw a feller hate Injuns more than Kinrich did.”
“If my scalp looked like his, I don’t reckon I’d be too cordial to them either,” Lee grinned, but then added, “I wouldn’t count on him being dead just yet. His kind is mighty hard to kill.”
“I’m just glad that we’re clear of him,” I replied.
Lee nodded in agreement, and after that we sat by the fire and finished our pot of coffee. I reckon we were both real thankful to be alive, and it felt good just to relax.
After a while Lee got up.
“I’d better take a look around, and make sure that those Injuns ain’t trailing us,” Lee said.
“I’ll go with you,” I grabbed my rifle.
We walked to the edge of the ridge, and then we squatted on our heels and looked the country over.
We stayed there for a long time, and the only thing that moved were our eyes.
Suddenly, in the far distance, I spotted a lone rider.
“I see somebody!” I exclaimed softly.
“Where?” Lee looked concerned.
“There,” I pointed him out.
Lee had an eyeglass, and he studied the rider.
“If that don’t beat all!” He finally said.
He lowered his eyeglass and looked at me.
“It’s Palmer! I know it’s him, ’cause he’s riding that dun horse of his.”
“Palmer!” I blurted angrily. “He tried to kill me!”
“I know; I saw it,” Lee replied. “It doesn’t look like he’s given up yet either.”
I shook my head in disbelief as we watched him.
Palmer was taking his time, and every once in a while he would stop as he studied the ground.
Palmer wasn’t the best tracker around. But his skills were good enough, because he was coming straight towards us.
“He sure is determined to kill you,” Lee said.
“Why?” I asked. “We’ve had some problems, but I wouldn’t think he’d go this far.”
“It’s personal with him,” Lee explained. “You see, everybody thinks you’re better than him with a six-shooter.”
“I am better,” I said.
Lee grinned.
“You and me know that, but Palmer doesn’t. And, the only way he can prove folks wrong is by killing you. And another thing; you have a big reputation right now as being a feared gunfighter and all. So, if Palmer kills you, then he’ll be known as the man who killed Rondo Landon.”
“He’s a fool,” I replied with disgust.
“Yes, well, that fool is about to be here, so you’d better figure out what you want to do about it,” Lee said.
I grabbed my rifle.
“I reckon I’d best scare him off,” I said.
“You ain’t going to kill him?” Lee shot me a surprised look. “You could shoot him real easy from here.”
It was a tempting thought, but I shook my head.
“It ain’t in me to kill a man like that.”
“If that was you down there, Palmer wouldn’t hesitate to kill you,” Lee pointed out.
“I know it,” I replied. “But I ain’t Palmer.”
Lee grinned.
&nbs
p; “No, you surely ain’t Palmer.”
Chapter thirty-eight
I took a long, careful aim.
I squeezed off a shot, and the dirt in front of Palmer’s horse exploded. The bullet ricocheted into the rocks while Palmer’s horse squealed and jumped sideways, and then he started bucking.
I waited, and then I fired three more times in rapid fashion all around Palmer.
That made his horse buck even harder, and Palmer was having a hard time staying on.
Lee and I couldn’t help but chuckle as we watched the bronc ride.
Palmer finally managed to get his horse under control, and then he lined his horse out, going the other way. He didn’t look back, and he kept his horse in a dead run until he had disappeared.
“I don’t think we’ll be seeing him for a while,” I grinned as we stood.
“Don’t count on it,” Lee warned as we walked back to camp.
We holed up for the rest of the day. And, except for some cows that showed up in the far distance, we didn’t see anything else.
Come nighttime we cooked some supper, and afterwards we sat around the campfire.
“What do you figure on doing now?” I asked Lee as I put a few more branches on the fire.
“I’ve been giving that some thought,” Lee said as he leaned back against his saddle and got comfortable. “Like Kinrich said, there’s fixing to be a big range war blow open around these parts, and I thought I might get in on it.”
“What side do you plan on fighting for?” I asked curiously.
Lee grinned.
“Whoever pays the most, I reckon. You can come with me, if’n you’d like.”
I shook my head.
“No thanks. I’m going to drift south.”
Lee glanced curiously at me.
“Are you going to join up with some other outfit?”
“No, I’m all through with being an outlaw,” I announced. “Whatever I do next, I’m going to do honest.”
“Good for you,” Lee said, and he looked like he meant it. “You’re a good kid, and I’m sure you’ll do fine. But, since you’re planning on going honest and all, you’d better take my advice on a couple of things.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Like what?”
“For starters, I’d stay away from Midway. Yancy ain’t going to stop looking for you.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “In a few days I plan on being a long ways from here.”
“Good,” Lee said, and continued, “I’d also consider changing your name, and I’d also put away that fancy six-shooter. That pistol is a dead give away. Soon as you ride into a town, everybody’s going to know who you are.”
“But I don’t have another pistol,” I said, not liking the idea much. “I’d feel sorta naked not wearing one.”
“I’ve got an extra six-shooter,” Lee offered. “It’s old, but it still shoots good.”
Lee turned around and dug it out of his saddlebags.
I took the six-shooter from Lee, and then I handled it some and looked it over. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as my ivory handled six-shooter, but it would do.
“How much do you want for it?” I asked.
“How much you got?” Lee grinned.
We haggled a bit over the price in good fun, and then I paid him off.
After that I went over to my saddlebags and put away my ivory handled six-shooter. Now, it felt odd, wearing a different six-shooter, but I reckoned I’d just have to get used to it.
After that we bedded down.
Sometime during the night another storm built up, and it rained hard. Lightning flashed all around us, and Lee and I huddled underneath our bedroll tarps.
We were soaked the next morning.
As soon as it got daylight we built a fire and dried out our bedrolls and clothes. After that we cooked up some breakfast, and after we ate, Lee walked out to look the country over.
I cleaned up things, and then I followed after Lee.
I found him squatting on his heels beside a tree as he looked below us.
“Move slow,” Lee warned me. “We’ve got company.”
“Who is it now?” I asked, concerned.
“Tussle,” Lee replied with a grim face.
Chapter thirty-nine
I was real careful not to make any sudden movements as I squatted beside Lee.
At first I didn’t see them. But then, as my eyes adjusted to the country, I spotted them in the far distance. There were more riders than I could count, and they were spread out all over the place as they gathered up the cows that we had seen the day before.
Lee was looking through his eyeglass.
“Tussle’s down there, all right. He’s with the main herd,” Lee said. “Yancy and Cooper are also down there.”
I wasn’t surprised.
They were coming towards us. As they got closer, I thought I could make Yancy out. There was a feller built like me that was a ways out in front.
“Is that feller by himself Yancy?” I asked softly.
“Yep, that’s him,” Lee replied, and his voice had a worrisome sound to it. “He must be scouting ahead for tracks.”
“Do you think he’ll find ours?” I asked worriedly.
“I hope not. Hopefully that rain last night wiped ’em out.”
“It looks like Tussle got most his cows back,” I said as I studied the main herd.
“I’d say so,” Lee agreed.
I was glad.
After that we didn’t talk. Instead, we both stayed still while we watched them work the country out in front of us.
They rode in real close to us, and we were both nervous. But they finally drifted on by, and we both breathed a big sigh of relief.
“Now you know why I wanted to hole up here for a day or two,” Lee said as we walked back to camp. “I knew that sooner or later, Tussle and his men would be about.”
“That was good thinking,” I agreed.
“But I reckon it’ll be safe to pull out in the morning,” Lee commented. “Now that they’ve gone through here, I doubt they’ll be coming back.”
Just to be safe, that night we didn’t have a campfire. We bedded down early, and daylight found us saddled and ready to ride.
“Well, you take care of yourself, Rondo,” Lee said as he stepped into the saddle. “And make sure and keep your eye out for Palmer.”
“I’ll do that,” I replied as I climbed up onto Slim.
Lee nodded, and he turned his horse and rode out.
I sorta hated to see him go. But, there was no way I was going to get mixed up in a range war, especially when Yancy and Cooper were involved.
I watched Lee leave, and then I turned Slim to the south.
As I rode along I was in a surprisingly good mood. It felt like a huge burden had been taken off my shoulders, and I felt at ease for the first time in a long while.
But still, every once in a while, the face of the dying lawman would come to mind and would ruin my good mood.
But at least I wasn’t an outlaw anymore. That was a start.
There was also another thing on my mind, and that was the promise I had made to myself to make up for killing that lawman. I still had no idea how I would square things, but I was determined to do it.
I had never been in these parts before, but I had been further south, and I remembered seeing several ranches and farms down there.
I drifted south for about a month. I wanted to avoid any people, so I stayed away from towns and such.
I did pass by a few ranches, but I headed on deeper south, mainly because I wanted to put some more distance between me and Midway before I stopped.
Whenever I needed food I would stop a while and hunt. I always cooked enough meat to last a few days, and when that ran out I just stopped again. I figured ol’ Slim could use the rest anyways.
I did see a few Injuns from time to time. But they were always a long ways off, and I would quickly change directions.
I don’t know why, but after
a couple of weeks I got the distinct feeling that I was being followed. I did my best to cover my tracks, and several times I stayed all day in one spot while I carefully watched my back trail.
I never saw anything. But still, no matter how careful I was, I just couldn’t shake the feeling.
Despite this feeling, I finally figured that I had traveled enough. I was now deep into cow country, so I decided that I would stop and ask for a job at the next ranch I came across.
That night I made camp at the base of high ridge.
Evening time had become my favorite time of day. It was a good time to relax and drink some coffee, and I was planning on doing just that.
There was a nice, gentle breeze, and I leaned up against my saddle and got comfortable while I watched Slim graze. It was real peaceful, and I couldn’t help but think that this sure did beat being an outlaw.
It was almost dark when suddenly, from up above on the ridge, I heard a clicking sound.
I knew that sound all too well. It was a rifle hammer being pulled back.
I dropped my coffee, and then I rolled over and dove to my left.
Chapter forty
A rifle boomed, and there was a loud ping as the bullet hit my coffee pot.
I scrambled as I knocked over my pot of coffee and doused out the fire. In the same motion I also grabbed my rifle and dove behind a log.
Another bullet came crashing down, and it made a loud, whining sound as it ricocheted into some nearby rocks.
I had good cover, so I hunkered down.
I glanced upwards. It was almost completely dark, and I couldn’t see a thing. But I figured that was good, because that meant the shooter couldn’t see me either.
Time passed slowly, and the only thing that moved were my eyes. I never saw anything, and before long it got so dark that I couldn’t see the ridge anymore.
I moved as quiet as possible as I packed up camp and saddled Slim.
The whole time I worked I was real tense as I expected the shooter to fire again. But to my relief, it never happened.
I climbed up onto Slim and took out in a slow walk.
I went two or three hundred yards. After that I kicked Slim up to a trot, and we got out of there.
